Beverage containers for infants contain a variety of types of lids. One common infant beverage container lid includes a sippy spout designed for an infant to easily extract the contents of a beverage container without spilling those contents. Two types of sippy spout designs generally exist, a hard rigid spout and a soft spout that is deformable. The hard rigid spout may contain a valve that regulates the flow of the contents of the beverage container. Generally, the hard rigid sippy spouts equipped with valves have few problems related to leaking because the valve only allows the flow of fluid when a change of pressure occurs. Conversely, hard rigid sippy spouts may not be comfortable for an infant to bite down on.
Soft sippy spouts, however, are designed to be deformed, especially when bitten down on by an infant, making them more comfortable for an infant to place in their mouth and are more suitable for an infant who is teething. Soft sippy spouts, because of their easy ability to deform, do not regulate the flow of the contents of the beverage container as well as the valve system in hard sippy spouts. The soft sippy spouts can easily be deformed by an infants hands or any other force applied to the spout, causing the contents to flow uncontrollably out of the beverage container.
Therefore, what is needed is a combination of the deformability and comfort of a soft spout with a valve like a hard spout to regulate the flow of the contents of a beverage container.